"Duces tecum, that's the stuff."

Today's excerpt is from The Surgeon's Mate had our intrepid hero (Jack Aubrey) singing the praises of his lawyer, who has been helping to extricate him from a ponzi scheme.

     'I am very pleased with him. A capital man of business, clear-headed, and as brisk as a bee. He is carrying the war into their camp, the infernal dogs: that is what I like to see. Says a writ of duces tecum will compel them to show the paper I signed, and put an end to the uncertainty; and he has already sued one out. Duces tecum: that's the stuff.'
     'What does it mean?' asked Sophie.
     'I never was much of a fist at Latin,' said Jack. 'Not like Philip Broke. But I do remember dux, a leader, an admiral as you might say: and the plural is duces. So you could construe duces tecum as the admirals are with thee; and I don't ask better than that. Excellent Mr Skinner.'

I sent out a few subpoenas myself today. It's not as exciting as Jack thinks, but we can't all be Post-Captains, can we?